WA farming family the Della Vedovas turn spud exporters

Camera IconStephen and Ben Della Vedova from Pemberton Fresh with bags of spuds they are exporting direct to Singapore.Picture: Ian Munro

A WA family-owned farming business has diversified its revenue stream and is fuelling demand for locally-grown potatoes by exporting its produce direct to international supermarkets.

The Della Vedova family, who farm potatoes and cattle in the Southern Forests, launched their Pemberton Fresh business in 2016 to sell potatoes directly to international customers.

Cutting out any middlemen such as importers and exporters, they started supplying Singaporean supermarket chain Cold Storage in April and will supply Fair Price from this month.

The chains represent about 80 per cent of Singapore’s supermarket stores, and Pemberton Fresh is in advanced talks with Hong Kong-based chains about similar partnerships.

Among longer-term plans, the family have the Middle East and destinations with direct flights — including London — in sight. Ben Della Vedova, a chartered accountant and fourth-generation farmer who runs the business with brother Stephen and father Dom, said the family looked to the international market after deregulation of the potato industry in 2016.

Working with Aus-Trade, Pemberton Fresh approached and entered into talks with the Singaporean supermarkets directly, bypassing traditional routes whereby export and import agents are part of the supply chain. “It means we control the whole supply chain and are responsible for the produce, all the way from the paddock through to the warehouse at the other end,” Ben Della Vedova said.

“Beyond the warehouse we also work closely with our partners to enhance consumer awareness via in store visual merchandising and complementary “grab and go" products.”

Four varieties of premium potatoes are packaged into 750gram branded bags, featuring recipes supplied by the WA Potato Growers Association.

The family grow the potatoes for six months of the year across 34ha on their own property in Pemberton, producing about 2200 tonnes a year, or almost 5 per cent of WA’s 55,000-tonne annual fresh potato crop.

To supply WA potatoes year round, Pemberton Fresh also sources produce from growers north of Perth, which has different growing conditions.